Hi I'm Tamara and I'm a webcam-anon. My significant other is obsessed with the gerlach webcam. Yes, this means I get random texts about there actually being a truck in the street. He has been obsessed about the footprints in the park that won't melt. Of course, to be able to converse with him I have to also watch the camera. Who put the footprints there? Will they ever melt? Where IS that truck going? And how in the world does Bruno keep his business open when no one is ever there?

When the only tool you got is a hammer, every problem looks like a hippie.

Mmmmmm I love the smell of Burning Man - Token

Getting overly dramatic about the ticket sale process is so 2012. - Maladroit

Simple. Telephone on arrival in Gerlach. I'm told there is a pay phone there, or use Bruno's (and pay them). (Of course, you are all laughing at me now, and waving your shoe phones.)If several of us try to take screen shots, at least one of us ought to get a decent one.

You won't be able to miss the water tower as you're coming through town. It's right as the road bears left, and well it's a big water tower. Once you're parked, head to that park bench you see in the pic, the one that's closest to the white picket fence. I can't tell from the pic which way the bench is facing, but turn and face the picket fence and you should be set to go. For added measure (to make sure everyone's clear of the branches of the trees), standing to one side of the bench (the side closest to the road) is where you'll want to center the group. It's refreshed once a minute, so for good measure after calling someone and synchronizing watches you'll probably want to plan to stand there a good 5 minutes so it can get a few snaps.

Ah yes, the Google Map solved it for me. I remembered the sharp turn in the road by the railroad track, but I did not realize it turned more than 90 degrees so that the street actually heads somewhat south again. That puts the camera facing north, yes, and Bruno's on the correct side of the street. And Bruno's is in the distant background, not really visible in the shot. (Street View!)

Now... I suppose it would be rude to knock on the door and ask the resident (Helen?) permission to pose in her front yard? That would be the best shot. If the cell phone works, I could even pose the group by telephone while watching the screen and get it just right. (Modern technology! )

We ought to think of lighting and background, so nobody "disappears" against the background, or with the shadow of a tree branch over their face. That's why I'm thinking of the foreground, so everyone's heads are outlined against the snow. And closer is always better, if we shall have any hope of recognizing anybody. Better to cut off some feet than lose the faces.

But of course, we do not want to make a nuisance of ourselves with our hosts in Gerlach.

Yeah, it can be confusing. Having worked many years in the glossy-color-magazine industry, I know we all say "shoot", and I doubt I can change that Industry Standard in my lifetime. So... keeping track of the context matters.

I seem to be able to save one screen shot per minute to a photo folder, even computer-illiterate as I am, so this ought to work.

Give me an underground laboratory, half a dozen atom-smashers, and a beautiful girl in a diaphanous veil waiting to be turned into a chimpanzee, and I care NOT who writes this nation’s laws. ... S.J. Perelman

I'll quote that at you next year when you start watching that damn camera obsessively.

I saw a bird this morning. Hehehehe

Give me an underground laboratory, half a dozen atom-smashers, and a beautiful girl in a diaphanous veil waiting to be turned into a chimpanzee, and I care NOT who writes this nation’s laws. ... S.J. Perelman

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The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair.